Josie Long: Be Honourable at South Street

Josie Long: Be Honourable is at South Street on Friday. Picture by Idil Sukan

What did you have for breakfast this morning? Whatever you had, chances are you didn’t even think about taking a picture of it.

But one man has. And that man decided to post the pictures of his daily meals on to the photo sharing website flickr.

Anyone can see it – and that includes Josie Long, comedian and occasional star of telly panel shows. The comic was converted to breakfast during a health kick.

“I just got in to breakfast in this last couple of years really – it’s wonderful,” she explains. “You can have whatever you want. It’s really beautiful. It’s a better meal than any other meal just for the sheer variety.”

And she started researching this first meal of the day, stumbling across that flickr blog.

“What’s really great about it is you pick up so much about his life and his character from these photos,” she says. “I fell in love with him through looking at just what he was eating.”

It’s not just the pictures – he leaves comments on his choices every day, something else that endeared him to 28-year-old Josie.

“Everything that he does is so witty and sweet,” she says.

The pictures now form part of her latest show, Be Honourable, which premiered in Edinburgh earlier this summer. In a way, it’s Josie’s very own review of the year.

“I write down anything that happens to me in my life, anything interesting at all,” she explains. “I try and make the shows about what I’m most excited and passionate about.

“I try and really think about what am I most interested in, what I think I’ve learnt about and the best things that have happened to me that year.”

This year’s interests include politics – including Billy Bragg and Nye Bevan, the Labour health minister who helped launch the NHS after the Second World War.

“They are people who shared my kind of outlook on life and have the same political beliefs as me,” she explains. “Billy Bragg is such a hero of mine he’s fantastic, he’s great.

He writes really honestly about his experiences and is really vibrant.”

She adds that the show is more than a comedy set – it’s actually a ramshackle call to arms. Josie dreams of seeing you leave South Street determined to overthrow the coaliation Government.

She laughs as she says: “Basically what I really want for people to come out of it to actually change the world through a small scale socialist revolution against the Government.”

And she’s willing to see them take whatever steps are necessary. She could be pulling my leg when she says: “If they want to take up arms that would be good as well. As far as they’re willing to go for the cause I’ll be happy with.”

She even suggests that the audience should attempt some political sabotage by pretending to be Alok Sharma and Rob Wilson.

“Maybe they could go in [to Parliament] dressed up as them and maybe veto all the Cameron cuts and ideological nonsense that the Conservatives are trying to push through.”

Away from trying to bring about her own October revolution – after breakfast, which will be photographed – Josie is busy writing a book. As part of her advance, she received a caravan and a tombstone.

“Basically it’s how to live a slightly fun and more imaginative life and part of it is a treasure hunt and you,” she promises, “can be part of the treasure hunt.”

But before the book comes out, there’s Friday’s show which, Josie promises, will be “a lot of fun with a cavalcade of silliness”. And a sprinkling of breakfast cereals.

Tasty, tasty, very, very tasty.

Josie Long: Be Honourable is at South Street on Friday. Tickets cost £12 and are available by calling 0118 960 6060 or logging on to www.readingarts.com.